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Movement Law Lab

@movementlawlab.bsky.social

Bringing the power of lawyers to social movements.

1,087 Followers  |  836 Following  |  378 Posts  |  Joined: 18.11.2024
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Posts by Movement Law Lab (@movementlawlab.bsky.social)

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DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court String of embarrassing defeats for prosecutors as experts condemn DoJ effort to cast people as ‘violent perpetrators’

DOJ’s attempt to silence protestors through federal charges is failing because judges and juries are seeing right through their authoritarian tactics. It’s outrageous that the federal gov continues to take resources away to intimidate dissent.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

04.03.2026 23:38 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Cook County prosecutors dismiss 21 cases against ICE protesters, including suburban moms arrested in sit-in Cook County prosecutors dismissed 21 cases that were filed against protesters at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview.

www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/04/c... [gift link]

04.03.2026 18:49 — 👍 296    🔁 77    💬 3    📌 0

These are the things you should know: static1.squarespace.com/static/62c31...

03.03.2026 23:36 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

DHS is sending hundreds of subpoenas to Google, Meta & others tech demanding data on accounts.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

03.03.2026 23:36 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

A big part of the authoritarian playbook is war. War takes over the news. War blots out criticism. War divides a nation’s people, subjecting those against it to being called unpatriotic. War grants leaders all sorts of emergency powers. War consumes everything else.

We mustn’t let this war do so.

01.03.2026 23:01 — 👍 23107    🔁 7837    💬 691    📌 315
Orange text: "ICE agents don’t get to pick and choose when the First Amendment applies." Orange text: "We have a right to record law enforcement in public." Orange ACLU logo. Black background.

Orange text: "ICE agents don’t get to pick and choose when the First Amendment applies." Orange text: "We have a right to record law enforcement in public." Orange ACLU logo. Black background.

When ICE agents are working, we have a right to film them in public. Period.

03.03.2026 00:58 — 👍 1549    🔁 483    💬 14    📌 7

BREAKING: Our client Mahmoud Khalil is appealing an immigration judge’s ruling that says the Trump administration can re-detain and deport him.

This judge’s order was baseless and retaliatory, and must be reversed before Mahmoud’s rights are violated again.

03.03.2026 02:17 — 👍 819    🔁 194    💬 5    📌 2

“I’m going into federal court to get a federal judge to tell ICE and the immigration judge that they have to play by the rules.”

03.03.2026 14:17 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

One thing is clear: we’re witnessing the gutting of the DOJ, the expansion of federal overreach, and the practical end of habeas corpus.

#LawAgainstAuthoritarianism

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Judge Blackwell continued:

“If anything, it ought to be a warning sign. Continued detention is not lawful just because compliance with release orders is administratively difficult for you.”

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Judge Jerry Blackwell issued a warning that shouldn’t be necessary:
“Having what you feel are too many detainees, too many cases, too many deadlines, and not enough infrastructure is not a defense to continued detention.”

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Thousands of people—including U.S. citizens—are now stuck in detention months after judges ordered their release.
Why? There are too few people left at the DOJ to process the paperwork.
Habeas corpus has become optional.

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Meanwhile, ICE has ramped up enforcement to historic levels:
→ “Kavanaugh stops” (warrantless racially motivated stops stops)
→ Mass nationwide raids
→ Billions invested in deportation infrastructure
Arrest everyone. Sort out the legality of arrests later.

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

She went on to say that the DOJ is processing habeas corpus petitions with:
→ Untrained ICE volunteers
→ Military JAG lawyers with no civilian court experience
→ Probationary attorneys with no orientation
The infrastructure for basic constitutional work has collapsed.

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

She confessed on the record:

“I’m a probationary attorney with no proper orientation or training. I stupidly volunteered for a mission I was not equipped to handle.”

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Julie Ye appeared before Federal Judge Jerry Blackwell in the U.S. District Court to answer for the government’s failure to comply with judicial orders releasing people from ICE detention.
abcnews.go.com/US/job-sucks...

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

“This job sucks. Please detain me so I can get some sleep.”
That’s what a DOJ lawyer told a federal judge last week.
The headline went viral for many in the legal world.
But the story behind it is a constitutional crisis.

27.02.2026 18:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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“Mobilize Everybody”: Minneapolis Organizers Share Lessons From Their Struggle Largely unseen care work, communications, healing, and fellowship makes sustained resistance in Minneapolis possible.

My latest reprinted in @truthout.org. "One group member admitted that she followed ICE vehicles while honking loudly so often that her car horn broke."

24.02.2026 04:03 — 👍 460    🔁 149    💬 2    📌 5
Minnesota is facing serious and growing challenges in the midst of ongoing federal occupation and violence, and our communities are calling for meaningful change. Protest can be a powerful tool for challenging unjust systems and pushing leaders to act. At the same time, actions like rent strikes can carry significant legal and financial risks. Minnesota renters deserve clear information about those risks so they can make informed decisions about whether participating is the right choice for them.

<HOME Line logo>

Minnesota is facing serious and growing challenges in the midst of ongoing federal occupation and violence, and our communities are calling for meaningful change. Protest can be a powerful tool for challenging unjust systems and pushing leaders to act. At the same time, actions like rent strikes can carry significant legal and financial risks. Minnesota renters deserve clear information about those risks so they can make informed decisions about whether participating is the right choice for them. <HOME Line logo>

RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN A RENT STRIKE

-Threats/retaliation from landlord
-Eviction / Forced move
-Loss of a rental subsidy
-Non-renewal of lease
-Long-term credit and rental history problems
--Owing additional money on top of your regular monthly payment (late fees, court fees, and attorney fees—could be $400+)

<HOME Line logo>

RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN A RENT STRIKE -Threats/retaliation from landlord -Eviction / Forced move -Loss of a rental subsidy -Non-renewal of lease -Long-term credit and rental history problems --Owing additional money on top of your regular monthly payment (late fees, court fees, and attorney fees—could be $400+) <HOME Line logo>

PEOPLE AT SIGNIFICANT RISK

-Tenants who cannot afford to pay the additional fees associated with an eviction.
-Tenants who have subsidies. 
-Tenants who would have difficulty attending court or representing themselves due to language, transportation, or employment barriers.
-Tenants on a month-to-month lease or leases that may soon expire.
-Tenants with roommates- if a roommate doesn’t pay their rent, the eviction is for all tenants.

<HOME Line logo>

PEOPLE AT SIGNIFICANT RISK -Tenants who cannot afford to pay the additional fees associated with an eviction. -Tenants who have subsidies. -Tenants who would have difficulty attending court or representing themselves due to language, transportation, or employment barriers. -Tenants on a month-to-month lease or leases that may soon expire. -Tenants with roommates- if a roommate doesn’t pay their rent, the eviction is for all tenants. <HOME Line logo>

Head to our website to check out all the details about the risks associated with participating in a rent strike
https://homelinemn.org/rentstrike

If you would like to discuss your specific situation with an attorney, please use our Email an Attorney form.
https://homelinemn.org/email

Head to our website to check out all the details about the risks associated with participating in a rent strike https://homelinemn.org/rentstrike If you would like to discuss your specific situation with an attorney, please use our Email an Attorney form. https://homelinemn.org/email

HOME Line Legal & Organizing staff have prepared an educational resource about rent strike risks: homelinemn.org/rentstrike

Statement: MN is facing serious and growing challenges in the midst of ongoing federal occupation and violence, and our communities are calling for meaningful change.
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23.02.2026 20:45 — 👍 21    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 0
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"Resist and unsubscribe" ICE boycott: List of companies targeted A new protest is targeting companies that have been viewed as "enablers" of ICE.

“The boycott is the latest attempt by critics to put pressure on companies that may be able to influence government officials to bring change.”
www.newsweek.com/resist-and-u...

22.02.2026 15:00 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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The Frightening, Very Real Tool ICE Agents Have to Add You to a “Nice Little Database” if You Attend a Protest Take these threats literally.

"If you exercise your First Amendment right to protest injustices you believe your government is committing, you risk being targeted by that very government. If you don’t want Big Tech helping that government target you? You may have to be right back at that protest again."
slate.com/news-and-pol...

21.02.2026 14:01 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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The secretive, destructive work of an ICE attorney: ‘My job is to do what I’m told’ ICE lawyers in New York City earn more than $100,000 a year, enjoy generous benefits and post about rich social lives. Their work is vital to Trump’s deportation agenda

“ICE lawyers in New York City earn more than $100,000 a year, enjoy generous benefits and post about rich social lives. Their work is vital to Trump’s deportation agenda”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

20.02.2026 14:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1

For the legal profession watching this happen:
If career prosecutors won’t be complicit in abandoning justice, what’s our responsibility?
Private lawyers. Law professors. Bar associations. Civil rights orgs.
When the DOJ becomes a weapon, who holds the line?
#LawAgainstAuthoritarianism

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

These aren’t isolated acts. Federal lawyers are resigning across DOJ offices nationwide.
They’re being asked to prosecute dissent, shield abuse, and abandon civil rights enforcement.
Some are refusing. Some are walking away. Some are speaking out.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Six federal lawyers walked away rather than turn the law into a weapon against a widow.
because their oaths—to justice, to conscience—meant more than compliance with authoritarian orders.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow Joseph H. Thompson, a career federal prosecutor who was the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota last year, was among those who resigned as the Justice Department sought to examine the woman’s supposed…

Acting AG Thompson in Minnesota said no.
He refused to prosecute Nicole’s grieving widow. He objected to shielding the shooter.
Five of his colleagues resigned with him.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

The DOJ blocked Minnesota from investigating the shooting, using
federal supremacy as a shield. This is how impunity gets institutionalized and the law leveraged by authoritarians.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

The DOJ didn’t stop there.
They opened a criminal investigation into Nicole’s widow. Not the shooter.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Then DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Nicole Good a “domestic terrorist.”
Without evidence.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Deputy AG Todd Blanche let the agent who killed her walk free.

20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0